


Phoenix Burn

by seimaisin



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-04
Updated: 2016-09-03
Packaged: 2018-08-12 21:15:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7949425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seimaisin/pseuds/seimaisin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Vex'ahlia and her brother have built a life from scratch - a family, a business, a place to call their own.  But the choice to rescue a stranger in a dark alley may threaten everything they've built.</p>
<p>Percy has lost everything. He's looking for revenge, not for a new family to care for. But when the twins drag him into their lives, he realizes he might have found something more to live for - and something more to lose.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Phoenix Burn

**Author's Note:**

> The plan is to update 1-2 times a week. If that changes, you'll probably hear first over on my Tumblr (http://shadowedhills.tumblr.com).
> 
> Title is from the Alpha Rev song of the same name.

Vex is pleasantly buzzed when she and her brother wave goodbye to their friends - many of them also now their employees, which is odd, in an awesome way. “How did we get to own a business again?” she asks Vax as they leave the bar.

“Don’t ask me, you’re the one who did it.” Vax sticks his hands in his pockets. The weather’s getting a bit brisk; fall will be turning to winter before too long. Vex is grateful for her leather jacket - it comes from Goodwill, but it was an excellent find, worth far more than what she paid for it. Her brother, meanwhile, refuses to wear anything heavier than a hoodie until first snow. “I just show up and cut hair,” he continues, grinning at her. “You make it an actual business.”

“As if there’d be a business if you weren’t so good with scissors and hair gel.” She knocks her shoulder against his. “We did alright, didn’t we?”

“Yeah.” Vax’s smile is bright, and devoid of the terrible weight she once thought was permanently etched on his face. Vex can do nothing but smile back. 

When they reach the corner, Vex motions to the right. “Come on, let’s cut through the alleys, it’s quicker.”

“It’s also dangerous. The neighborhood is improving, but it hasn’t exactly reached ‘good’ status yet.”

“We’re dangerous too.” Vex has her pistol in her purse, as usual, and she knows Vax started carrying his knives with him again the minute his parole officer told him he could. “And we haven’t been mugged around here yet.”

“Yet,” Vax repeats, but he follows her toward the alleys without hesitation. 

The alleys allow them to traverse the four blocks between the bar and their building without dealing with the crowds around the dance club at 7th and Central. And at midnight on a Friday, the crowds will be terrible, Vex knows - honestly, they’re more likely to wander into a fight in front of the club than they are in the alleys …

… she thinks, as they skirt around a fire escape and she hears a dull thud ahead, followed by a moan of pain. “I jinxed it,” she mutters to herself.

“Yeah, you did.” Vax bends down and puts his hand on his ankle, where she knows he keeps one of his knives sheathed. “We should go back and walk on the streets.”

“We should.” 

But neither of them turn around. Instead, Vex creeps forward, keeping to the shadow of the fire escape as much as possible. She hears her brother sigh, but feels him at her back all the same. There’s a dumpster in front of them, and the sounds are coming from just beyond. Above the dumpster, she can see two heads; they don’t seem to be fighting with each other, so they must be fighting with someone who isn’t currently standing. One of the heads moves, and another groan comes from the ground. “She didn’t tell us to kill you,” a low, menacing voice says, “but she also said she didn’t want to see you again.” There’s a response, too low for Vex to hear, and the first speaker laughs humorlessly. “You’re a little asshole, you know that?”

Another voice, this one obviously the other standing man. “Just kill him. Then he won’t come back.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Vex sees her brother unsheathe a knife. She nods imperceptibly and quietly draws her small pistol out of her purse. She leaves the safety on, but clutches it in her hands, with a thumb close enough to arm it if necessary. As she presses herself against the side of the dumpster, Vax jumps up, going from a crouch to the lid of the dumpster in an instant. The sound of boots against metal is nearly deafening at this range. 

“What the shit?” she hears from the other side. 

“Pick on someone your own size, fuckers,” Vax says. Vex would snort, if it were a less deadly situation, as the thugs - and they are thugs, of the large, white, and bald variety - are probably a good foot taller than either of them. But Vax has the high ground, and the advantage of speed. He easily leaps and grabs hold of the fire escape above when one of the thugs reaches for his legs.

Vex circles around behind them, while their attention is focused on her brother. She spares a glance for the man on the ground - he’s huddled up, so all she can see are flashes of light colored hair and a blue coat. Then a flash distracts her, as one of the thugs backs up and nearly trips over his victim. The hilt of Vax’s knife sticks out of his shoulder. 

She takes the opportunity to sneak up behind the other one and press her pistol up into his neck. “Move and I pull the trigger,” she says, releasing the safety. 

Vax jumps down on top of the other man, knocking him to the ground in front of the victim. It’s impressive, given the size difference, but it’s not like Vax doesn’t have experience with this kind of fight. Vex is less experienced, but even a large man thinks twice when there’s a loaded gun pressed into his flesh. Still, just to be on the safe side, she kicks her guy at the back of the knees, just at the right spot to send him down onto his own knees. Her gun is at his temple before he can reach around for her. “Don’t even think about it,” she says.

Suddenly, she hears a siren from the street, close enough that the thug in front of her risks jumping to his feet. To Vex’s surprise, he doesn’t reach for her - he just books it down the alley. When she looks up, she sees that Vax’s opponent is doing the same. Her brother, for his part, is on his knees, trying to catch his breath. She runs over to him. “You okay?”

“Just winded. He packed a hell of a punch.” He lets Vex pull him to his feet. “What about …”

They turn, to see the victim has pulled himself up to sit with his back against the wall, and is staring at the two of them with wide eyes magnified by the gold-rimmed glasses on his nose, which are surprisingly unharmed from the beating. His hair is light enough to almost be white, even though he’s obviously no older than they are. When they get closer, she can see a black eye, and dirt and rips all over his obviously expensive blue coat. He just continues to stare at them when they stand over him.

Vex crouches down to look him in the eye. “Are you okay?”

He blinks. “I think so,” he replies, his voice scratchy. “Thank you.”

“Injuries?” Vax asks. “Aside from that shiner?”

“I don’t know. I … it just hurts.” The man braces himself against the wall and attempts to stand. He only gets a foot or so off the ground before his balance deserts him. “Ow. Shit.”

“You need a hospital,” Vex says gently. “The University hospital is only a few blocks away, we can either call an ambulance or -”

“No!” His voice is loud enough to echo through the alley. “Not the hospital. I’m fine. I can walk.” 

She watches as he tries to stand again, with similar results. “You need medical attention. Seriously.”

“No. I can’t. She’s -” He cuts himself off, sitting back on the ground with a thud and pinching his nose, which sends his glasses askew. When he speaks again, he sounds vaguely out of breath, but the scratchy voice has given way to a more upper-class tone. “Thank you for helping me. I … I am more grateful than you know. But you can leave me here. I’ll figure something out.”

“Like hell,” Vax says, still standing above her. “I didn’t recognize those two assholes in particular, but I saw the tattoo on my guy’s neck.” Vex winces. She knows what that means, and knows without looking up that Vax is rubbing the back of his own neck, where scarring obscures his old ink. “We’re not leaving you for them.”

“You’re hurt,” Vex points out again. “You might have a concussion, or broken ribs, or something. You really need to see a doctor.”

“No. I can’t. I …”

Vax taps her on the head. “We have a doctor at home.”

She looks up at him. “Is Pike home tonight?”

“I’ll find out.” He pulls out his phone and takes a few steps away.

Vex turns back to see their new friend still staring at her. “Our neighbor is a resident at the University hospital,” she tells him. “We may be able to get her to check you out.”

“Why?”

“Because you need someone with some kind of medical knowledge to look you over.”

“No. I mean …” He blinks rapidly behind his glasses. “Why are you helping me? Why did you …” He gestures towards the dumpster.

“Would you rather we’d left them to kill you?”

“Most people would.”

“We’re not most people. Besides, we’ve got some good karma we need to pay forward.” She grabs his hand, feeling cold sweat mingle with the cool air around them. “What’s your name?”

He’s silent for a second, then squeezes her hand. “Percy.”

“Hi Percy, I’m Vex’ahlia. Call me Vex.” 

“Vex.” 

His voice is almost a whisper, and she can feel his grip loosening around hers. “No, no, stay with me, don’t fall asleep.” She lets go and takes his face in her hands. “Stay with me, Percy,” she repeats.

Vax comes back to stand over her. “Pike’s there, but Grog’s not, and I don’t want her running out here by herself at this hour. Not with those assholes somewhere around.”

“No.” She looks up. “We can get him there, the two of us.”

Her brother sighs, but nods. “Right. Grab his right side.” 

It’s awkward, but with a little effort from Percy, the twins manage to get him on his feet. They each take one of his arms around their shoulders; he’s slightly taller than they are, but he’s got just enough energy to grab hold and keep himself upright. “Are you sure …” Percy says weakly.

“Unless you decide you want to go to the hospital,” Vax says. “That would make everything a lot easier.”

“I can’t,” Percy says softly. “I’m sorry.”

“Then walk,” Vex says. “We’re only a couple of blocks away from our place.”

She knows Vax is keeping an eye out as they walk. She is as well - every shadow could be a trap, and the last thing they need is to lead a couple of Clasp assholes to their door. But there’s no sign of movement anywhere on their way home, except for a few rats foraging through the garbage. And the only sounds out of the ordinary are the quiet whimpers Percy lets out every few steps. 

When they get to the back door of their building, light is pouring from the doorway. Vex can see Pike’s small shape outlined on the step. She’s still wearing scrubs, which means she just got off shift. “What happened?” she asks, when they get close enough to be seen in the light.

“He got jumped,” Vax says. “We chased them off.”

“He refused to go to the hospital,” Vex adds. “But we couldn’t just leave him there.”

“Of course not,” Pike says. “Can you unlock the salon? Easier than dragging him upstairs.”

Vex uses her free arm to dig into her purse and grab her keyring, which she tosses to Pike. “Back door is the one with the red dot. Grab one of the benches from the washing stations.”

They maneuver Percy into the back of the salon, and help him sit down on a bench. He sits upright for a moment, obviously unsteady. “Lay back,” Pike says gently. “Consider it a favor, I’m short, and it’ll help me get a look at you.”

He looks over at Pike, who is barely taller than he is sitting down. “Okay,” he says, and accepts her help as she guides him back onto the bench.

Vex stands back and watches as Pike unbuttons Percy’s coat and the shirt underneath. His clothing is mercifully free of blood, except for some spatter around the collar, which obviously came from his mouth, given the matching dried red stains on his lip and chin. But his torso, once exposed, is already developing a rainbow of color. He winces when Pike touches him. “Probably a broken rib or two,” Pike says, “but there’s not much that the hospital could do for that. There are some bandage wraps up in our closet, from the last time Grog broke his ribs. Vax, can you go upstairs and grab them?”

“On it.” 

As Vax runs upstairs, Pike gently removes Percy’s glasses and hands them to Vex. “How’s your vision? Anything blurry?”

“Well, everything is always blurry without my glasses,” he says. “But no more so than usual.”

“Does your head hurt?”

“Ugh. Like an elephant stomped on it.”

“Not far from the truth, from what I saw,” Vex says, and earns a weak chuckle from Percy.

Pike asks a few more questions, and pokes gently a Percy until Vax returns with the bandages. “There may be a concussion,” she says finally, “but I don’t think it’s a serious one. From what I can tell, the ribs are going to be the worst of your problems. Help me get your shirt all the way off, and we’ll wrap them for you. It’ll be loose, to make sure you don’t injure something more if you cough or something, but it’ll keep things steady at least overnight.” 

Vax helps Pike strip Percy to the waist and sit him up. While they wind the wraps around his torso, Vex fiddles with the earpiece on the glasses. “Where do you live?” she asks. “Is there anyone there to look after you, just in case?”

Percy shakes his head, then winces at the movement. “I don’t really … there’s a place I’m staying, but I don’t normally live here. In Emon, I mean.”

Vex looks over at her brother, who shrugs. She nods. “Then you can sleep on our couch, at least for tonight.”

“What? I couldn’t …”

“Yes, you could,” Pike says firmly. “You shouldn’t be alone overnight. Just in case something happens.” Still, she looks over at Vex. “Are you sure? Grog will be home soon, he just picked up a shift at the club down the street. He could stay on our couch.”

“No offense, but our couch is probably more comfortable. And you’ve done enough. Thank you.”

“Of course.” She looks back at Percy. “I’ll come over to check on you when I wake up.”

“I … thank you.” He gives Pike a crooked smile. He’s probably really handsome, Vex thinks, when he’s not completely black-and-blue - good-looking in that sharp, aristocratic sort of way. And the shirtless view probably isn’t bad when he’s uninjured. He’s thin, but with wiry muscles evident in his shoulders and chest. 

Vax taps her on the shoulder, motioning her over to a spot near her office door. “This could be dangerous. I don’t think anyone followed us, but …”

He doesn’t have to say it. He’s worked hard - _they’ve_ worked hard - to create normal, legitimate lives as far away from the Clasp as they possibly can. A moment of kindness for a stranger could cancel all that effort in an instant. But at the same time … “If we turned him out now, we’d be no better than they are.”

“I know.” Vax sighs. “I’ll stay up and keep watch, both for them and for him. We don’t know him, and I’m not going to trust him in our apartment while we both sleep.”

“Fair enough. Neither one of us needs to open this place tomorrow - Zahra’s managing the first shift, and I’ll call Kima when I wake up so that we have someone else on alert, just in case.”

“And Pike will tell Grog, which gives us another guard.” 

They both look back at Percy, who is still sitting upright, but has closed his eyes. “He can stay the night,” Vex says, “and we can help him get back to wherever he belongs tomorrow. That’s all we need to do.”

“Right.” 

When they return to Percy’s side, he opens his eyes. “I’m in your debt.” His voice is less shaky than it was when they arrived. 

Vax helps him to his feet. “We’re not big on debts around here, buddy.”

“All the same.” He looks at Vex. “At the very least, I’ll have some karma to pay forward.”

She smiles at him. “Good enough. Come on, let’s get some sleep.”

She falls asleep thinking about his eyes, clear blue, and the mottled green-black that surrounds them. In her dreams, those eyes get confused with her own, and with her brother’s, all bruised, but with the same spark of clear defiance shining inside. Bruises heal, she knows, and scars fade. But when you’re lucky, that spark remains.


End file.
